Surrey sparkles in league opener against Pasadena

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — One bad inning for Crescenta Valley High starting pitcher Elliot Surrey was enough to make Friday night's Pacific League opener against Pasadena a nailbiter.

But six other innings of brilliance, capped by a dominant seventh inning in which he struck out the side looking, were enough to garner the desired end result, as the senior left-hander twirled a complete game to lead the Falcons to a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs at Stengel Field.

"Elliot did great today," said sophomore designated hitter Michael Russo, who singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the fifth and finished with a pair of singles. "After that bad inning, he came right back as if nothing happened."

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Nursing a 2-0 lead with one out in the fourth, Surrey issued his first walk, before allowing his first hit and then his second on the ensuing at-bat. Pasadena (3-4 0-1 in league), made the most of it, as both hits were doubles and both scored runs to tie the game.

Thereafter, Surrey pitched out of a jam created by two errors in the fifth and retired the last eight batters he faced, putting the finishing touches on a 107-pitch two-hitter in which he struck out 11 to just one walk.

"The good innings, I was just getting ahead. [Pitching coach] Darrin Beer was calling a great game with great sequencing," said Surrey, who threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 27 batters he faced, but fell behind on 2-0 counts to all three Pasadena batters that reached base in the fourth. "The bad inning was my fault, I was just getting behind."

The win put Surrey at 2-0 and evened the Falcons' record at 3-3 and returned Crescenta Valley to the win column for the first time since March 3, as it had lost its previous two games before a rained-out doubleheader on Saturday.

"It was important just to get back on track winning," Surrey said. "It's just good to get that feeling."

Of the utmost importance, as well, was getting off to a winning league start for a Falcons squad bolstered by a senior core of Surrey, reigning All-Area Baseball Player of the Year Troy Mulcahey, Troy Prasertsit and Kyle Murray looking to win the program's first league title since 2008, which was the last year of a seven-season title run.

"It's important for us to get back on track of winning league," Surrey said.